<p>OK, now that FB tickets are acquired on to the next sign up :)</p>
<p>What all do you sign up for and how should we get our parent FB tickets? (if not with the Family weekend package?)</p>
<p>Here is the info on purchase FB tickets: [Student</a> Affairs | Parent Programs](<a href=“http://parents.ua.edu/fwFootballTickets.cfm]Student”>http://parents.ua.edu/fwFootballTickets.cfm) It looks like you have to purchase one Family Weekend Package per FB ticket needed.</p>
<p>Tickets will be plentiful for that game. I’d wait and buy from a 3rd party. I’ll help you find them if you need it. The ones you get from The University will be upper deck endzone. You can get lower level for the same $$ or less when the time comes.</p>
<p>@ Casino</p>
<p>So what you are saying is buy the Family Weekend tickets now and the FB tickets from somewhere else later?</p>
<p>@ everyone…</p>
<p>Do most families buy the $45 per person Family weekend package tickets? (includes the Beach Bash, Tailgate and Jazz Brunch) or just do their own thing? just wondering how well attended (or crowded) these functions are and if they are worth doing?</p>
<p>Thoughts? from those who have attended in the past ;)</p>
<p>If you want to buy tickets thru Bama for Family Weekend, then you have to buy a Parents Weekend pkg - per non-student family member. However, if you’re buying a tix for your student to sit with you, then he needs a pkg.</p>
<p>Otherwise, you have to buy your football tix thru a 3rd party.</p>
<p>Family Weekend packages can be purchased for $45 per package. A package includes admission for one person to participate in the Beach Bash, the Family Weekend Tailgate, and the Student Affairs Expo & Jazz Brunch. The purchase of a Family Weekend package also includes tickets for your UA student(s) for the Beach Bash, the Family Weekend Tailgate, and the Student Affairs Expo & Jazz Brunch. Note that if you would like to attend the Family Weekend Tailgate, you must purchase a Family Weekend package. A package purchase is required for eligibility to purchase football tickets as well. You may purchase one football ticket per package, while supplies last. Football tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.</p>
<p>We’ve done the pkg route…the Beach Bash is really nice…and nicely catered. The Tailgate has lots of food as well. The Jazz Brunch thing is new (I think).</p>
<p>The Outdoor Pool Complex is really beautiful at night. When you’ve only seen it during the day, you don’t get the impact. The pool has lovely lights and water features. Yes, people do go into the pool and the jacuzzi. </p>
<p>the Beach Bash and the Tailgate are VERY welll attended! Don’t know about the brunch since I think that’s new.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Definitely buy the football tickets from a 3rd party. I have no experience with Family weekend events so I don’t know if buying that package is worth it or not. I’d assume so because if you don’t really want to participate in those events then you’d be better off coming down for a better game another weekend instead.</p>
<p>I’m having trouble getting the link to work to register.</p>
<p>Anybody else having this problem?</p>
<p>Going to shut down the computer and turn it on and try again.</p>
<p>I went last year to Parents weekend (and bought the FB tickets) and had a great time. My son was a freshman and in the MDB and I wanted to see a game. Since I had never been to a Bama game I went the easy route. We attended the events and had a great time. The seats for the football game were up high but it was fun. We were surrounded by rookie parents like ourserlves so everyone was basically like us. It was fun chatting with everyone and seeing how folkss kids were ajusting to school. Lots of OOS people like us where we were sitting.</p>
<p>I know you can probably buy tickets from a third party and get better seats. I just wanted folks to know about my expereince and what a fun time I had. No words can describe that first Alabama football game and all the festivities that go with it. RTR!</p>
<p>I agree, hokie. Although the seats were high, it was great to meet other parents. So, I guess you’re paying for the experience, but hey, it’s going to a good cause. So far, I’ve only gotten the chocolate party a la carte, as I haven’t firmed up our plans yet. If I can’t go, it’s not that big a loss as two full packages with football tickets at this point.</p>
<p>If D is in a sorority, I am assuming that there will be family weekend activities through them. If I wait until mid August to decide on Parents weekend events will that be too late?</p>
<p>As far a sororities go there is usually a Game Day meal on Parents Weekend and that’s pretty much it. Most sororities have a Parents Weekend/ Mom or Dad Weekend at another time during the year (many in Spring…my DD’s coincides with A Day).
I will tell you that we found that when we came for Parents Weekend (Sept '10) that our daughter, who was at that time a pledge, did not have a lot of time to spend with us besides on game day. We arrived on Friday around noon and spent time with her that afternoon as well as a brief dinner and then took her back to Tut by 8 where she had evening plans. We met up the next morning (DH and I carried in Starbucks for the girls) at Tut, hung out and then went over to the sorority for the Game Day meal. She had gotten us quite a few invites to different tailgates …so we made the rounds. DH loved meeting everyone and he was more than happy to sit at one tailgate (the people were from Bessemer…150 of them!) in a recliner (yep a recliner) and watch football on one of the 6 BIG flat screen tv’s they had set up!
The game was at night game and we did buy the nosebleed seats that were part of the package for Parents Weekend. My husband was amazed we were ABOVE the stadium lights!!! Listen to Casino suggestions for alternate seats.
It was a blowout and so we left in the third quarter. Our DD had a date for the game so we did not sit with her. We did enjoy meeting other parents and the game was fun (it was hot!).
We met up with DD and her date after the game. By that time it was after 9. We elected to go back to the hotel and they had plans.<br>
It was nice to see DD (my third trip to Tuscaloosa in a little over a month with move-in, Bid Day and now Parents Weekend) and we enjoyed spending the time we did have together. Maybe because it was so close to Bid Day she wasn’t needy for parent attention (she’s not a needy kid that way anyway) but also she had made friends and was very involved in “college” life. DH and I expected this and so there were no hurt feelings or feeling like we didn’t get the time with her we thought we should have. I am telling this because I don’t want parents to go and think they are going to spend LOTS of “Bonding time” with their children…remember I’m the “spread your wings and fly” mom…I expected her to busy. Loved the time we had to together (we did manage to drop serious $$$ shopping).
I guess what I am trying to say is if your daughter or son is in a sorority or fraternity you might want to check with them whether they have the time or “Want to” do the activities that are planned by the University. From what I have gathered by talking with other Greek parents in many cases they did not participate in those activities.</p>
<p>Thanks, ahpimommy. That’s pretty much what I expected. We are bringing 2 younger sisters with us and plan on spending time showing them the campus and college life in general. It will make me so happy to see D busy and happy at school. No worries about me feeling slighted</p>
<p>Yes, we spent very little time with S during parents weekend. There was a lunch at the house for parents before the game and S stopped by for 30 mins before he had to join his date at her sorority lunch.
Sunday we brought over lunch from Full Moon. That was pretty much it. We had fun though. How can you not have fun on game day?
We had wished we had gone down after pledge was over.</p>
<p>I had the same experience. My son is in the band so he is very busy on game weekends. We just found our own fun and did see him enough to take him out for a meal twice. Also, watched the band practice on Butler field that Friday afternoon which was neat to hear them so up close.</p>